News UNISON News Magazine

What council cuts really mean – Tell your councillor and MSP ‘enough is enough’

UN December 2015
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UNISON Edinburgh’s latest cuts newssheet outlines how the cuts will affect you as a worker and you and your family as citizens.

What the cuts are doing to council staff…
Cutting 2, 000 jobs or around 10% of staff
Threatening compulsory redundancies
No plan to deal with the increasing workloads and stress.

Outsourcing of music instructors
Outsourcing a further 25% of home care work to lower pay providers.
Reducing wages in disability services whilst acknowledging  poor recruitment/ retention levels.

27% reduction in management and 15% reduction of frontline staff.
Outsource, possibly via a co-operative, over 1,000 care staff in home care, care homes, day care, disability services, occupational therapy, equipment and telecare. All designed to reduce costs and eventually, pay and conditions.

Instead of increasing income the environment section are ending commercial waste collection and recycling.
Making the school crossing patrol post unsustainable by reducing hours.

Change some venue workers to 5 day contracts including every weekend.
Creeping privatisation and outsourcing of services

What the cuts are doing to you and your family…
Allowing the most vulnerable to be cared for by lower paid, low morale, high turnover, and overworked staff.
Closure of Panmure and reductions in Rowanfield school
Reduction in support staff in special schools
Reduction in support for foster carers
Reduction in early years staff in nurseries

Reduction in youth offending support
10% reduction in sport funding
Reduce children’s residential provision and closure of Hillview children’s residential centre
Reductions in parenting support for vulnerable families and family/pupil support to reduce exclusions.
Reduce youth work and adult learning.

Reduction and closure of some libraries.
Reduction in safer and stronger communities spend.
Reduction in spend on homeless provision
School music service to be charged.
Withdrawal of night noise team.
Withdrawal of community equipment to all except critical needs.

Reduction in learning disability services.
Reduction in Licensing and Trading Standards
Risk of reducing council’s ability to deliver transport priorities
Reduction in community policing
Increase parking charges and reduced parks maintenance.
10% reduction in frontline street cleaning, waste and grounds maintenance staff.

Reducing garden waste and recycling.
Removing lunchtime school crossing patrol
Stop repairs to tenement stair lighting.
Reducing spending on developing the city economy